Robinsons Land Corp. said it is expanding its mall in Tacloban City, Leyte while putting up a budget hotel beside it.

Arlene G. Magtibay, Robinsons Land general manager for the commercial centers division, said the expansion will add 7,000 square meters of floor space. The expansion will add two cinema houses to the current three and accommodate more restaurants, wellness establishments, and specialty stores.

"This early, we have pre-leased a good number of spaces as tenant interest in Tacloban is quite high," Magtibay said.

Robinsons Place Tacloban opened in 2009.

"It quickly became the favorite shopping and recreational destination of Leyte residents as well as those from neighboring provinces," Magtibay said.

"The warm reception of the market has emboldened us to increase our investment in Tacloban so that we could give our patrons even more choices to enhance their lifestyle. We believe the Tacloban market is ready and eager for newer and more unique offerings," said Magtibay.

A GoHotel will rise beside Robinsons Place Tacloban. It will be the second after the GoHotel beside Robinsons Pioneer in Mandaluyong City and the first to be completed outside Metro Manila.

The hotel will be connected to the mall and will have 98 rooms, offerings such as wi-fi connection, comfortable beds, rainshowers and flat-screen TVs at "very affordable rates."

"We are confident that our gohotels.ph will do excellently in Tacloban and will no doubt help boost tourism in the region," said Elizabeth Gregorio, general manager of gohotels.ph.

Robinsons Land plans to put up 30 GoHotels in the next five years.

The expansion wing of Robinsons Place Tacloban is targeted to open in October while the GoHotel will open some time in the last quarter of this year.